IAR 47

The IAR 47 was a 1942 prototype aircraft built by Industria Aeronautică Română.

IAR 47
Role Reconnaissance and light bomber
Manufacturer Industria Aeronautică Română
First flight 1942
Primary user Royal Romanian Air Force
Number built 2

Development

In 1941, it became apparent that the then current Romanian reconnaissance type, the IAR-39, was no longer an effective design. Therefore, IAR designed a replacement type, the IAR-47. Effectively a hybrid of the IAR 39 and IAR 80, it used their IAR 14K IV C32 engine. The IAR 47 prototype was flown for the first time in 1942 to meet a requirement for a tactical bombing and reconnaissance aircraft.

The aircraft was similar to the IAR-39, except for the fact that it was a low-wing monoplane and had a smaller cockpit (for 2 instead of 3). Its fuselage, based on the IAR 39, was of mixed construction. Compared to the IAR-39, the observers fuselage side windows were deleted, and the crew reduced to two, pilot and observer/rear gunner, armed with a 7.92mm Rheinmetall MG. Like the IAR-80, the IAR-47 was a low-winged monoplane, and used a re-inforced version of that type's undercarriage. Two 7.92mm Rheinmetall MGs were mounted, and six 110 lb (50 kg) bombs could be carried in a bomb bay between the crew's positions. Reconnaissance was its primary mission, however, and the bomb bay was normally filled with a fuel tank, increasing its normal fuel load of 127 Imp gal (580 l) to 209 Imp gal (950 l). The mission fit was three cameras, one vertical and two 45o oblique, in the fuselage underside. The unarmed prototype was flight tested in autumn 1942, and exhibited good handling characteristics. However, in the light of the improved Soviet fighters now in service, its low powered engine, and light armament, it was considered obsolescent, and anyway, all of IAR's production capacity was required for Bf 109 production. Therefore, development of the IAR-47 was stopped in January 1943, one prototype being destroyed in a USAAF air raid in 1944.[1]

Variants

There were (at least) two I.A.R. 47 prototypes. The first one (with partially glazed side and bottom fuselage) appears in the colour photos, while the other one( YR-IGR), which resembles more the I.A.R. 80 fitted with long span wings, did not have side and bottom fuselage windows and appears in the 1952 photos

Operators
Kingdom of Romania
  • Royal Romanian Air Force
 Romania

Specifications (IAR 47)

General characteristics

  • Crew: 2
  • Length: 11 m (36 ft 1 in)
  • Wingspan: 12.5 m (41 ft 0 in)
  • Height: 3.2 m (10 ft 6 in)
  • Wing area: 23.8 m2 (256 sq ft)
  • Gross weight: 3,550 kg (7,826 lb)
  • Powerplant: 1 × IAR K.14-IV C32 radial piston , 716 kW (960 hp)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 464 km/h (288 mph, 251 kn) at 4,300 m (14,100 ft)
  • Range: 850 km (530 mi, 460 nmi) without bomb bay tank
  • Service ceiling: 8,000 m (26,245 ft)

Armament

  • 2 x 7.92mm Rheinmetall MG in the wings
  • 1 x 7.92mm Rheinmetall MG for rear gunner
  • 6 x 50 kg bombs
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See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

Notes
  1. Axworthy 1994, pp.10-11.

References
  • The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985), 1985, Orbis Publishing, Page 2192
  • Axworthy, Max. "On Three Fronts: Romania's Aircraft Industry During World War Two". Air Enthusiast, No.56, Winter 1994. Stamford, Lincs, UK:Key Publishing. ISSN 0143-5450. pp. 8–27.
  • Morosanu, Teodor Liviu. "Romanian Reconnaissance". Air International, April 1994, Vol 46 No 4. Stamford, Lincs, UK:Key Publishing. ISSN 0306-5634. pp. 207–211.
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